The wonderful warm, sunny weather that defines the Gold Coast provides a vital element in the formula that has made Surfers Paradise a top, international holiday destination. Weather patterns over past years have been constantly good and predictable.

The longer term trends show maximum temperatures spanning from 21 to 29 degrees celcius throughout the year, so warm weather is almost always assured. Daytime temperatures can vary by about 8 degrees from these averages.

January and February are normally the wettest months of the year, accounting for nearly a quarter of the region’s annual rainfall. They are also the hottest months with maximum daytime temperatures hovering around 29C. Nights are slightly cooler but there is little relief from the consistently relative high humidity of around 70%.

June through to October is the most predictable good weather period at Surfers Paradise. It is warm, humidity is at their lowest levels and also has the highest number of rain-free days.

However, trends are just long term averages which smooth out the extreme readings. So the actual climate in any month could be warmer, cooler, wetter or dryer than the long-term averages.

What about the exceptions?

We earlier noted that May is usually a wetter month. Torrential rain in the last few days of May 2009 appears to be tracking towards a new rainfall record for the region. Rivers have flooded and inundated shopping centres, homes and caravan parks in low-lying areas. It was a time when tourists go shopping or stay indoors. Venturing inland could be unpleasant – even unsafe.

The storm tides were too dangerous to surf and will invariably damage the Gold Coast beaches. Storms like these come to the region every few years; they had a bad one in 2005 and a smaller one in 2008.

Life goes on, the sun comes out again, storm damage is cleaned up, repairs are made and Surfers Paradise and the rest of the Gold Coast get back into the swing of things again.

Beaches always suffer in major storms like this, as sand is swept from the upper Gold Coast to its southern reaches. The Gold Coast Council knows how to fix this problem and has an on-going active beach restoration program. Any damage is soon fixed although it might pay to stay at the more popular beaches like Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, as these would be the f irst beaches to be restored.

A real benefit of the storms is the filling of dams supplying water to south-east Queensland and the revitalizing the magnificent rain forests of the hinterland.

If the beaches have not yet reached their pristine best, don’t stress. It will be a good time to explore the national parks that abound in the region.

Organise your car hire Surfers Paradise at Cut Price Car Rentals! We have a fleet of modern rental cars at fantastic and affordable rates on quality cars. Ask us to install an optional GPS satellite navigation system, or we can supply you with local area maps to help you get around the region without stress.